Jurgis Šaulys. Mano dienynas

LTŠi knyga – valstybininko, diplomato, publicisto, kolekcininko Jurgio Šaulio dienoraštis. Būdamas veržlus, J. Šaulys nuo pat jaunumės sukosi Lietuvos krašto, vėliau valstybės aktualijų sūkuryje: 1903-1904 m. redagavo draudžiamą lietuvišką spaudą, rengė politinius dokumentus Pirmojo pasaulinio karo metais, dalyvavo susitikimuose su Lietuvą okupavusios Vokietijos politikais, prisidėjo rengiant ir pasirašė Nepriklausomybės Aktą, tapo pirmuoju Lietuvos diplomatu ir atstovavo šaliai Vokietijoje, Šveicarijoje, Italijoje, prie Šventojo Sosto, Austrijoje, Vengrijoje ir Lenkijoje. Daugelį kasdienių ir veiklos aktualijų J. Šaulys, tegu ir su pertraukomis, net 45 metus, du trečdalius gyvenimo, fiksavo dienoraštyje: pradėjo 1903 m. birželį, o baigė 1948 m. spalį, paskutinę gyvenimo dieną. Visą didžiulį 22 sąsiuvinių rankraštį sudėjome į vieną knygą. Jį saugantis Lietuvos nacionalinis muziejus džiaugiasi galėdamas pasidalyti vertingu paveldu ir kartu suteikti žodį J. Šauliui, kad jis pats papasakotų apie save visiems, besidomintiems jo gyvenimu ir veikla. Knygos tekstą puikiausiai galima skaityti be jokios papildomos informacijos – čia Lietuvos ir pasaulio įvykiai pinasi su universaliomis, suprantamomis asmeninio gyvenimo istorijomis. [Leidėjo anotacija]

ENThough we cannot stop time, we can immortalize the fragments of the present in notes and images. Through diaries, the narratives of daily life take the shape of stories that eventually remind the reader of the realities of the past from a new perspective. These personal notes both keep the privacy of their authors and enable them to recount their life story. The National Museum of Lithuania, one of the largest repositories of Lithuanian heritage, is pleased to publish a valuable source stored in its funds. It is a diary of Jurgis Šaulys (1879-1948), a signatory to the 1918 Act of Independence of Lithuania, diplomat, publicist, and collector. He kept it for as long as 45 years (1903-1948), though at the start it was written at certain intervals. From February 1928, Šaulys used to find time for diary-writing on a regular, even daily, basis, and went on like this for over 20 years. In his diary, Šaulys talks to the reader, sharing important current affairs from his personal point of view. The start and end dates of 23 traditional-format notebooks of different volume and thickness written in Lithuanian (see References'), the hints and numbering found in some of them entail that at least the text written from 1915 has survived in full. The life circumstances of the author who originated on the border of the Russian Empire, in what is now southwestern Lithuania, as well as the type of his activities determined an extensive geography of this historical source. Having lost his mother in his early days, Šaulys was plagued by doubts for many years, trying to find a profession and place for him.After taking a course in a progymnasium, he studied at the Roman Catholic Theological Seminary in Vilnius for a certain period by simultaneously working in the Lithuanian press, which was banned in the Russian Empire until 1904 and was published in German border towns and the U.S. Either due to his Lithuanian national sentiments or his radicalizing left-wing views, he was expelled from the seminary but did not lose his spirits thanks to the support of his relatives and the intellectuals of the older generation. Jurgis Šaulys resided in Switzerland for as many as three times: as a student in Bern in 1903-1912; as a Lithuanian representative in 1919; as a permanent resident from the autumn of 1939 after he and his wife acquired a villa in Lugano in 1937. He also served in Germany for three periods of uneven length: as an editor of the banned press in 1903-1904; as the chief of the first Lithuanian legation in Berlin from November 1918 for over six months, and after the return to this post from October 1931 for more than seven years. In 1932, while residing in Germany, Šaulys was also appointed as envoy to Hungary and Austria and to Switzerland in 1934. He served in a diplomatic post in Rome twice: as the chief of the diplomatic mission to the Italian Government in 1921-1923 and to the Holy See in 1927-1931. He worked as an envoy to Poland from the middle of December 1938 until the occupation of Warsaw.The Lithuanian geography reflected in Šaulys diary is traditional but also rather dynamic: from the activities in Vilnius during World War I, publishing and administrative work in Klaipėda, numerous returns to Kaunas to the travels to his school town, seaside resort Palanga, and native places in southwestern Samogitia, to which he was drawn for natural reasons. The above and, in fact, broader geographical kaleidoscope is in detail reflected in the diary, because his notebook would accompany him at his workplaces, during leisure time and holidays travels. Several hints in the text imply that some entries were made at a slightly later date. At some points, the author briefly recounted the major events of several days or weeks by maintaining the previous style of writing. The stylistics of the text changed considerably during the period under study. The difference between his earliest diary entries written in 1903-1904 and later texts is most pronounced: the first entries feature an emotionally charged tone of narration, whereas later texts demonstrate a rather sketchy, neutral and even dry style close to concise news reporting. The diary of Šaulys tells a lot but also hides a lot; it is often difficult to grasp how the author himself evaluated the complicated political realities and what he spoke about with a vast array of people in his milieu. [...]. [From the publication]